Friends told me how sorry they were – but it wasn’t their fault. They told me

I needed to move on - as if it were that fucking easy, and I could just

pick up and carry on. They apologised for my loss – as if I’d

misplaced an item of value, instead of the person that had helped

hold me together, all the broken, messed-up pieces of me…It

devalued her and everything that we had, and I hated that they could

make such stupid, thoughtless and ridiculous statements. I knew

they cared and I knew they were concerned, but it took all my

willpower not to punch them and tell them to fuck off and leave me

alone. I couldn’t give them what they wanted from me. I didn’t want

to talk. I didn’t want to feel…

Rating: 4.5*

Maddie is free falling. Her boyfriend is the worst type of man. He has successfully eroded her confidence and self-esteem with his words and has her doubting herself. Marcus is there to help her pick herself up and dust herself down. He helps her to see her self-worth and builds her confidence up again.

Many will wonder why Maddie stays with her abuser but when you are constantly put down, yet crave for somewhere to belong and are told that no-one else will have you, you start to believe what you are being told.

This was an insightful look at emotional abuse and the road to re-discovering your inner strength. With the right kind of love the people in a relationship will flourish not fall.

GL Chapple is a welsh author that strongly believes she was born in the wrong country. She lives for hot, sunny days (of which there are never enough in her country of birth and residence!) Despite this, she can often be found at the beach with her husband and two young children. She has always loved to read and write and promised herself, one day, she would have a book bearing her name on her shelf. She will read almost any genre and despite her belief that the kindle ranks in the top ten of inventions, she still loves cuddling up with a paperback. She writes what she loves to read about: stories with heart, humour and heat.